Wednesday, April 26, 2017

MANILA 4/26/17 (Bicol Standard) -- The Commission on Elections has issued a reminder to those are qualified to vote for this coming October 2017 election that they have only until Saturday, April 29, to register.

Comelec chair Andres Bautista said those who intend to register commonly come in droves on the last day.

"That has always been a problem. They should file their applications earlier," he said.

He has also reminded the public that the officer of local election officers in the different municipalities will be open on April 27 and 28 for voter’s registration, even if other government offices will suspend work for the holding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

The voters’ registration period for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls began on November 7, 2016 and is scheduled to end on April 29.

So far, the Comelec has received 2,174,601 applications for voters’ registration as a result of regular and satellite registration activities in schools and communities all over the country.

Bautista has said there will be no extension of office hours on April 29 and that offices of the local election officer in towns and cities will only accept applications until 5 pm.

Offices of the local election officers will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Saturday (April 29) to accept applications from prospective voters.

“It will be only until 5 p.m. And the voters’ registration machine can only accommodate 250 applications a day so they shouldn’t wait until the last minute,” Bautista said.

The Comelec is still continuing its preparations for the October 23 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls since no law has been formally passed postponing them to another year.